Women Are Spending $1.4 Billion Less On Birth Control Due To Obamacare: Report

FILE - In this March 25, 2015, file photo, Margot Riphagen, of New Orleans, wears a birth control pills costume as she protests in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, as the court heard oral arguments in the challenges of President Barack Obama's health care law requirement that businesses provide their female employees with health insurance that includes access to contraceptives. Some insurance plans offered on the health marketplaces violate the lawâs requirements for womenâs health, according to a new report from a womenâs legal advocacy group. The National Womenâs Law Center analyzed plans in 15 states over two years and found some excluded dependents from maternity coverage, prohibited coverage of breast pumps or failed to cover all federally approved birth control methods. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Spending on birth control has significantly decreased since the Affordable Care Act's mandate for insurance companies to cover contraception went into effect in August of 2012, according to a new report.

An analysis published Tuesday in Health Affairs shows that women have saved $1.4 billion on birth control pills, while out-of-pocket spending on intrauterine devices has fallen 68 percent. Annual out-of-pocket savings were $248 for IUDs and $255 annually for oral contraceptives.

The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover all birth control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration without any form of cost-sharing, like copayments or deductibles.

The Health Affairs report found that in the six months leading up to the birth control mandate, pill users spent an average of $32.74 per prescription, with that number falling to $20.37. Average spending on IUDs fell from $262.38 to $84.30.

“It turns out the law is doing exactly what the law says should be done,” said the lead author of the report, Nora Becker, according to Newsweek. “I was surprised by the speed at which we've seen a drop in price.”

Investigations conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation have found that some insurers are using a loophole to evade the mandate's requirements.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 30: Protesters from both sides of the birth control issue Leah Hughs (L) and Kristin Hughs (R) chant for their side in front of the U.S. Supreme Court June 30, 2014 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to hand down its ruling on whether a private company can, on religious grounds, be exempted from health care reform's requirement that employer sponsored health insurance policies cover contraception.